Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Transportation Subcommittee, today praised Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley for advancing the locally preferred alternative for Baltimore’s Red Line.  The light rail project will run 14 miles from east to west, operating between Woodlawn and the Johns Hopkins Bayview medical complex. 

“Baltimore has been underserved by public transit. The Red Line is going to help transform our city and our region, adding a convenient, affordable east-west alternative to the ever-increasing gridlock. The Red Line will improve the flow of our local transportation, help reduce congestion and improve air quality by taking thousands of cars off the road, and provide Maryland with a jumpstart in developing a new, more energy efficient economy,” said Senator Cardin.

“I am pleased that Baltimore finally will have a truly integrated regional transit system. An impressive 42,000 trips a day are expected on the new route, connecting individuals and businesses with the MARC Penn and Camden Lines, the Central Light Rail Line, the Baltimore Metro system, numerous bus routes, and the park-and-ride facility at I-70.  The proposed rail stops also will link major workforce hubs, such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Social Security Administration on the west, the VA Medical Center and the Garmatz Federal Courthouse downtown, along with the federally-supported employment and education centers at the University of Maryland Baltimore and Johns Hopkins.  Baltimore’s public transit will become a reliable foundation for the city’s future economic and job growth.”

According to the White House, this “project has many outstanding permitting issues that will require substantial cooperation between a number of resource and other federal agencies.  By engaging in early negotiations with all necessary federal agencies and optimizing coordination amongst the agencies this project will begin construction earlier than currently planned, potentially reducing the project timeline by two years.”